"John don't!" Asia spoke out from behind me.
My blade was poised to descend upon the quivering boy at my feet, as I glanced back at Asia. She was leaning back against a tree with a hand pressed to her shoulder, as her face was twisted up with pain.
"Don't do it John."
I saw her start to fall and I dropped the sword, as I rushed to her side. She was unconscious, I quickly felt at the wound. Blood was everywhere and I pressed a rag against the wound to try to stop it. Feeling under her I searched for the exit wound. There wasn't one. I swore hard.
The old black man was kneeling beside me, "We have a surgeon in our camp! We need to get her there!"
Quickly, he helped me tie a makeshift pressure bandage over the wound. I swung her up into my arms and started to follow after the man, only to stop briefly beside the boy, who still lay on the ground shaking.
"So help me, if she dies I'll finish the job I started with you!" I said, before I hurried on after the older man leaving the boy to cry on the forest floor.
We broke out of the forest into a clearing made up of makeshift shacks huddled around an old stately looking farmhouse. The older man called out orders to surprised looking individuals that came popping out of everywhere.
The man seemed to be something of a leader in this little community. He led me straight for the house holding the door open for me. I passed through it careful not to hit Asia's head on the doorpost. The man directed me to a room and I stepped into it. The room was obviously set up for medical purposes. I had no sooner entered the room then a clean-shaven man of about forty with Doctor written all over him stepped into the room followed by a woman with all the practicality of a nurse in her bearing.
"Put her here on the table." The Doctor said.
I laid Asia down and they lost no time, but showed their experience in how they coordinated together at cutting away the bandage and shirt in order to examine the wound. It was a small clean hole, probably made by a small caliber bullet such as a 22.
They rolled her onto her side, as the doctor felt at her back, "I feel it!"
The nurse sterilized the area and then the Doctor split the skin with a scalpel. More of my Asia's blood dripped down to stain the table red. My hands tightened into fists at the sight of it. A hand squeezed my shoulder and I glanced to the side to see the black man there. I shrugged his grasp off and went back to watching the Doctor. The man didn't seem to be offended, but continued to stand beside me.